Is American pop star Taylor Swift a “literary genius”? As students at Ghent University in northern Belgium studied the subject, there was an uproar in their classroom.
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Taylor Swift’s lyrics “can sound like poetry,” says one student.
One of her colleagues believes that it is still too early to say whether the 33-year-old singer will have the same influence as William Shakespeare.
The 16th century author wrote 39 plays and more than 150 poems, while Taylor Swift recorded ten albums.
What do Shakespeare and the great names of classical literature have in common with the famous contemporary singer-songwriter? This is the topic of Elly McCausland’s course “Taylor Version Literature” for master’s students at Ghent University.
In the first lesson on Monday, the teacher piqued her students’ curiosity by asking them, for example, what makes certain works timeless. His goal: to make literature more accessible.
“I want people to become interested in literature, to think about it in new ways and to realize that, in fact, even literature from centuries ago always has something to contribute to our conversations,” she tells AFP.
“A true poet”
The ten-session course uses references to Swift’s songs and focuses on classic works such as Charlotte Brontë’s novel Villette.
It was a success with 61 students registered, twice as many as usual. Some even come from other regions of Belgium.
Zina Ringoot, 20, traveled 90 minutes from Antwerp. “I’m a big fan of Taylor Swift,” explains the master’s student in English literature. She wants to write a thesis about the Folklore album and its connection to Romanticism.
Joris Verschelde, 21, admits that he is “not a big fan” but wanted to see “the connection between the songs and what we have already learned” in the older lyrics.
The windowless auditorium is often full of laughter, even though serious topics such as feminism, sexism and misogyny are on the agenda.
Critics reject comparisons with the great authors, but Taylor Swift also has admirers among Shakespeare experts, including the British scientist Sir Jonathan Bate.
“It’s not just top-notch showbiz, Taylor Swift is a true poet,” he wrote in the Sunday Times in April after attending a record-breaking concert by the artist during her Eras tour.